[Pathogenesis and clinical aspects of Ménière disease. A study of 739 patients]

The symptomatology of Ménièr's disease is delineated by means of 739 cases observed in a period of 25 years. The dilation of the endolymphatic space accompanied by a temporary mixture of endolymph and perilymph substantiates the idea of a nosologic entity as well as the interpretation of the symptoms: vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and fullness of the ear. The medical treatment by infusions of Rheomacrodex, vasodilatory substances, antivertiginosa, and psychosedatives is unsatisfying just as surgical treatment by saccotomy, sacculotomy, labyrinthectomy, and other operations at the inner ear. Local application of gentamycin into the middle ear can produce good results; in cases of failure the neurectomy should be taken in consideration. The neurectomy eliminates vertigo, but there remains the need of central compensation and the possibility of appearance of Ménière's disease on the other ear.